Independent Auditors’ report

UK Audit Report of the Independent Auditors to the members of Barclays PLC

We have audited the Group and Parent company financial statements (the ‘financial statements’) of Barclays PLC (the ‘Company’) for the year ended 31st December 2007 which comprise the Consolidated and Parent company income statements, Consolidated and Parent company balance sheets, Consolidated and Parent company cash flow statements, Consolidated and Parent company statements of recognised income and expense and the related notes in the section headed Notes to the accounts. These financial statements have been prepared under the accounting policies set out in the section headed Accounting policies. We have also audited the information in the Remuneration report that is described as having been audited (‘the auditable part’).

Respective responsibilities of Directors and Auditors

The Directors’ responsibilities for preparing the Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable United Kingdom law and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union are set out in the statement of Directors’ responsibilities for the accounts within the section headed Accountability and audit. The Directors are also responsible for preparing the Remuneration report.

Our responsibility is to audit the financial statements and the auditable part of the Remuneration report in accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements and International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland). This report, including the opinion, has been prepared for and only for the Company’s members as a body in accordance with Section 235 of the Companies Act 1985 and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving this opinion, accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.

We report to you our opinion as to whether the financial statements give a true and fair view and whether the financial statements and the auditable part of the Remuneration report have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 1985 and, as regards the Group financial statements, Article 4 of the IAS Regulation. We also report to you whether in our opinion the information given in the Directors’ report is consistent with the financial statements. In addition, we report to you if, in our opinion, the Company has not kept proper accounting records, if we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit, or if information specified by law regarding Directors’ remuneration and other transactions is not disclosed.

We review whether the Corporate governance report reflects the Company’s and Group’s compliance with the nine provisions of the 2006 FRC Combined Code specified for our review by the Listing Rules of the Financial Services Authority, and we report if it does not. We are not required to consider whether the board’s statements on internal control cover all risks and controls, or form an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s or Group’s corporate governance procedures or its risk and control procedures.

We read other information contained in the Annual Report and consider whether it is consistent with the audited financial statements. The other information comprises only the Chairman’s statement, Group Chief Executive’s review, Financial review, Risk management, Directors’ report, Corporate governance report, the unaudited part of the Remuneration report, Accountability and audit and Presentation of information. We consider the implications for our report if we become aware of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the financial statements. Our responsibilities do not extend to any other information.

Basis of Audit Opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) issued by the Auditing Practices Board. An audit includes examination, on a test basis, of evidence relevant to the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements and the auditable part of the Remuneration report. It also includes an assessment of the significant estimates and judgments made by the Directors in the preparation of the financial statements, and of whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the Group’s and Company’s circumstances, consistently applied and adequately disclosed.

We planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all the information and explanations which we considered necessary in order to provide us with sufficient evidence to give reasonable assurance that the financial statements and the auditable part of the Remuneration report are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or other irregularity or error. In forming our opinion we also evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation of information in the financial statements and the auditable part of the Remuneration report.

Opinion

In our opinion:

• – the financial statements give a true and fair view, in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union, of the state of the Group’s and the Parent company’s affairs as at 31st December 2007 and of the Group’s and the Parent company’s profit and cash flows for the year then ended;
• – the financial statements and the auditable part of the Remuneration report have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 1985 and, as regards the Group financial statements, Article 4 of the IAS Regulation; and
• – the information given in the Directors’ report is consistent with the financial statements.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors
London, United Kingdom
7th March 2008

Notes

a

The maintenance and integrity of the Barclays PLC website is the responsibility of the Directors; the work carried out by the auditors does not involve consideration of these matters and, accordingly, the auditors accept no responsibility for any changes that may have occurred to the financial statements since they were initially presented on the website.

b

Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.